Name: Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta
Ingredients: 3-4 Tblsp. Olive Oil; 1 clove garlic, minced; shrimp (preferrably peeled, tail off, deveined and par boiled for 5 min) or a 1#; bag of salad shrimp, ready to use.; 1 (28 oz.) can peeled or crushed tomatoes; 1 more clove garlic, minced; parsley,; salt, and pepper (a few dashes of each); a few splashes of white wine; 5 oz. of half and half(rich cream) OR a; heavy whipping cream

Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Shrimp: Provides the main protein and sweet, briny flavour in the sauce.
Peeled canned tomatoes: Form the body and acidity of the sauce as they simmer down.
Half and half or heavy whipping cream: Adds fat and richness, softening the acidity of the tomatoes into a smooth sauce.
Olive oil: Carries garlic flavour and helps the shrimp sauté without sticking.
Garlic: Adds aroma and savoury depth to the oil and sauce.
White wine: Adds acidity and aroma that brighten the tomato sauce.

The step that matters

Cooking the shrimp in the cream sauce. Shrimp turn firm and rubbery when overcooked, and cream sauces can curdle or separate if boiled hard. Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer and add the shrimp near the end so they cook only until opaque.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, garlic, shrimp, tomato, parsley, pepper, white wine):

Thymefits better
Basilfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, garlic, shrimp, tomato, parsley, pepper, white wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Salad	not in our table	0

Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta